Bridge health monitoring system based on vibration measurements

A bridge health monitoring system is presented based on vibration measurements collected from a network of acceleration sensors. Sophisticated structural identification methods, combining information from the sensor network with the theoretical information built into a finite element model for simulating bridge behavior, are incorporated into the system in order to monitor structural condition, track structural changes and identify the location, type and extent of damage. This work starts with a brief overview of the modal and model identification algorithms and software incorporated into the monitoring system and then presents details on a Bayesian inference framework for the identification of the location and the severity of damage using measured modal characteristics. The methodology for damage detection combines the information contained in a set of measurement modal data with the information provided by a family of competitive, parameterized, finite element model classes simulating plausible damage scenarios in the structure. The effectiveness of the damage detection algorithm is demonstrated and validated using simulated modal data from an instrumented R/C bridge of the Egnatia Odos motorway, as well as using experimental vibration data from a laboratory small-scaled bridge section.     

Correlating measured and simulated dynamic responses of a tall building to long‐distance earthquakes

For almost a decade, a 66‐storey, 280m tall building in Singapore has been instrumented to monitor its dynamic responses to wind and seismic excitations. The dynamic characteristics of the tall building have been investigated via both the finite element method and the experimental modal analysis. The properties of the finite element model have been shown to correlate well with those derived from the data recorded during the ambient vibration tests. During the study period, 21 sets of earthquake ground motions have been recorded at the building site. The basement motions may be divided into three categories based on their predominant frequency components with respect to the building's fundamental frequency. The calibrated three‐dimensional finite element model is employed to simulate the seismic response of the tall building. Correlation analysis of the time histories between the recorded data and the simulated results has been carried out. The correlation analysis results show that the simulated dynamic response time histories match well with those of the recorded dynamic responses at the roof level. The results also show that the simulated maximum response at the roof level is close to the peak response recorded during the earthquakes. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Damage identification of a 3D full scale steel–concrete composite structure with partial‐strength joints at different pseudo‐dynamic load levels

Partial‐strength composite steel–concrete moment‐resisting (MR) frame structures represent an open research field in seismic design from both a theoretical and an experimental standpoint. Among experimental techniques, vibration testing is a well‐known and powerful technique for damage detection, localization and quantification, where actual modal parameters of a structure at different states can be determined from test data by using system identification methods. However, the identification of semi‐rigid connections in framed structures is limited, and hence this paper focuses on a series of vibration experiments that were carried out on a realistic MR frame structure, following the application of pseudo‐dynamic and quasi‐static cyclic loadings at the European laboratory for structural assessment of the Joint Research Centre at Ispra, Italy, with the scope of understanding the structural behaviour and identifying changes in the dynamic response. From the forced vibration response, natural frequencies, damping ratios, modal displacements and rotations were extracted using the circle fitting technique. These modal parameters were used for local and global damage identification by updating a 3D finite element model of the intact structure. The identified results were then correlated with observations performed on the structure to understand further the underlying damage mechanisms. Finally, the latin hypercube sampling technique, a variant of the Monte Carlo method, was employed in order to study the sensitivity of the updated parameters of the 3D model to noise on the modal inputs. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of the construction process and nonstructural components on the modal properties of a five‐story building

A full‐scale five‐story reinforced concrete building was built and tested on the NEES‐UCSD shake table during the period from May 2011 to May 2012. The purpose of this test program was to study the response of the structure and nonstructural components and systems (NCSs) and their dynamic interaction during seismic base excitation of different intensities. The building specimen was tested first under a base‐isolated condition and then under a fixed‐based condition. As the building was being erected, an accelerometer array was deployed on the specimen to study the evolution of its modal parameters during the construction process and placement of major NCSs. A sequence of dynamic tests, including daily ambient vibration, shock (free vibration) and forced vibration tests (low‐amplitude white noise and seismic base excitations), were performed on the building at different stages of construction. Different state‐of‐the‐art system identification methods, including three output‐only and two input‐output methods, were used to estimate the modal properties of the building. The obtained results allow to investigate in detail the effects of the construction process and NCSs on the dynamic parameters of this building system and to compare the modal properties obtained from different methods, as well as the performance of these methods. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evolution of modal characteristics of a mid-rise cold-formed steel building during construction and earthquake testing

Vibration-based structural identification is an essential technique for assessing structural conditions by inferring information from the dynamic characteristics of structures. However, the robustness of such techniques in monitoring the progressive damage of real structures has been validated with only a handful of research efforts, largely due to the paucity of monitoring data recorded from damaged structures. In a recent experimental program, a mid-rise cold-formed steel building was constructed at full scale atop a large shake table and subsequently subjected to a unique multi-hazard scenario including earthquake, post-earthquake fire, and finally post-fire earthquake loading. Complementing the simulated hazard events, low-amplitude vibration tests, including ambient vibrations and white noise base excitation tests, were conducted throughout the construction and the test phases. Using the vibration data collected during the multi-hazard test program, this paper focuses on understanding the modal characteristics of the cold-formed steel building in correlation with the construction and the structural damage progressively induced by the simulated hazard events. The modal parameters of the building (i.e., natural frequencies, damping ratios, and mode shapes) are estimated using two input–output and two output-only time-domain system identification techniques. Agreement between the evolution of modal parameters and the observations of the progression of physical damage demonstrates the effectiveness of the vibration-based system identification techniques for structural condition monitoring and damage assessment.     

Parameter identification of framed structures using an improved finite element model‐updating method—Part II: application to experimental data

In this study, we determine an updated finite element model of a reinforced concrete building—which was damaged from shaking during 1994 Northridge earthquake—using forced‐vibration test data and a novel model‐updating technique. Developed and verified in the companion paper (viz. BVLSrc, Earthquake Eng. Struct. Dyn. 2006; this issue), this iterative technique incorporates novel sensitivity‐based relative constraints to avoid ill conditioning that results from spatial incompleteness of measured data. We used frequency response functions and natural frequencies as input for the model‐updating problem. These data were extracted from measurements obtained during a white‐noise excitation applied at the roof of the building using a linear inertial shaker. Flexural stiffness values of properly grouped structural members, modal damping ratios, and translational and rotational mass values were chosen as the updating parameters, so that the converged results had direct physical interpretations, and thus, comparisons with common parameters used in seismic design and evaluation of buildings could be made. We investigated the veracity of the updated finite element model by comparing the predicted and measured dynamic responses under a second, and different type of forced (sine‐sweep) vibration, test. These results indicate that the updated model replicates the dynamic behaviour of the building reasonably well. Furthermore, the updated stiffness factors appear to be well correlated with the observed building damage patterns (i.e. their location and severity). Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Verification of system identification utilizing shaking table tests of a full‐scale 4‐story steel building

This paper verifies the feasibility of the proposed system identification methods by utilizing shaking table tests of a full‐scale four‐story steel building at E‐Defense in Japan. The natural frequencies, damping ratios and modal shapes are evaluated by single‐input‐four‐output ARX models. These modal parameters are prepared to identify the mass, damping and stiffness matrices when the objective structure is modelled as a four degrees of freedom (4DOF) linear shear building in each horizontal direction. The nonlinearity in stiffness is expressed as a Bouc–Wen hysteretic system when it is modelled as a 4DOF nonlinear shear building. The identified hysteretic curves of all stories are compared to the corresponding experimental results. The simple damage detection is implemented using single‐input‐single‐output ARX models, which require only two measurements in each horizontal direction. The modal parameters are equivalent‐linearly evaluated by the recursive Least Squares Method with a forgetting factor. When the structure is damaged, its natural frequencies decrease, and the corresponding damping ratios increase. The fluctuation of the identified modal properties is the indirect information for damage detection of the structure. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Two‐stage damage detection algorithms of structure using modal parameters identified from recursive subspace identification

Structural damage assessment under external loading, such as earthquake excitation, is an important issue in structural safety evaluation. In this regard, appropriate data analysis and feature extraction techniques are required to interpret the measured data and to identify the state of the structure and, if possible, to detect the damage. In this study, the recursive subspace identification with Bona‐fide LQ renewing algorithm (RSI‐BonaFide‐Oblique) incorporated with moving window technique is utilized to identify modal parameters such as natural frequencies, damping ratios, and mode shapes at each instant of time during the strong earthquake excitation. From which the least square stiffness method (LSSM) combined with the model updating technique, called efficient model correction method (EMCM), is used to estimate the first‐stage system stiffness matrix using the simplified model from the previously identified modal parameters (nominal model). In the second stage, 2 different damage assessment algorithms related to the nominal system stiffness matrix were derived. First, the model updating technique, called EMCM, is applied to correct the nominal model by the newly identified modal parameters during the strong motion. Second, the element damage index can be calculated using element damage index method (EDIM) to quantify the damage extent in each element. Verification of the proposed methods through the shaking table test data of 2 different types of structures and a building earthquake response data is demonstrated to specify its corresponding damage location, the time of occurrence during the excitation, and the percentage of stiffness reduction.     

Statistical significance of modal parameters of bridge systems identified from strong motion data

Modal parameters of structural systems have commonly been determined using system identification (SI) methods for damage detection and health monitoring. For determining the deterioration of the integrity of structural systems correctly, modal parameters of a healthy structure have to be obtained with adequate certainty so that these parameters can be used as reliable references for the healthy system to compare with those of the damaged system. In this study, the statistical significance of modal parameters identified using strong motion time histories recorded on two bridge structures is assessed. The confidence intervals of identified modal frequencies and damping ratios are obtained using Monte Carlo simulations and sensitivity analyses in conjunction with eigenrealization algorithm. The dependence of the statistical bounds on model parameters is examined. The effect of using different number of sensors on the statistical significance is evaluated using simulated time history data from a validated finite element model of a bridge. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamic characteristics and seismic behavior of prefabricated steel stairs in a full‐scale five‐story building shake table test program

This paper investigates the dynamic characteristics and seismic behavior of prefabricated steel stairs in a full‐scale five‐story building shake table test program. The test building was subjected to a suite of earthquake input motions and low‐amplitude white noise base excitations first, while the building was isolated at its base, and subsequently while it was fixed to the shake table platen. This paper presents the modal characteristics of the stairs identified using the data recorded from white noise base excitation tests as well as the physical and measured responses of the stairs from the earthquake tests. The observed damage to the stairs is categorized into three distinct damage states and is correlated with the interstory drift demands of the building. These shake table tests highlight the seismic vulnerability of modern designed stair systems and in particular identifies as a key research need the importance of improving the deformability of flight‐to‐building connections. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of infill walls and floor diaphragms on the dynamic characteristics of a narrow‐rectangle building

Most buildings in Singapore are lightly reinforced concrete structures, which are mainly designed for gravity loading only, because Singapore is an island country located in a low‐to‐moderate seismic region. The dynamic properties of a typical high‐rise residential building with a long, narrow rectangular floor plan are studied using both experimental and numerical methods. The effects of the brick infill walls and the flexible diaphragms on the dynamic characteristics of the building are discussed in detail. The results from the ambient vibration tests are correlated with the numerical results of three different finite element models with different levels of sophistication. They include a bare frame model, a frame model with brick infill walls, and a frame model with both brick infill walls and flexible diaphragms. The dynamic properties of the third model match very well with the measured results in terms of both the natural frequencies and the mode shapes. The correlation results demonstrate the respective effects of the brick infill walls and the flexible diaphragms on the dynamic characteristics of the narrow‐rectangle building structure. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Damage assessment through structural identification of a three‐story large‐scale precast concrete structure

This paper investigates the damage assessment of a three‐story half‐scale precast concrete building resembling a parking garage through structural identification. The structure was tested under earthquake‐type loading on the NEES large high‐performance outdoor shake table at the University of California San Diego in 2008. The tests provide a unique opportunity to capture the dynamic performance of precast concrete structures built under realistic boundary conditions. The effective modal parameters of the structure at different damage states have been identified from white‐noise and scaled earthquake test data with the assumption that the structure responded in a quasi‐linear manner. Modal identification has been performed using the deterministic‐stochastic subspace identification method based on the measured input–output data. The changes in the identified modal parameters are correlated to the observed damage. In general, the natural frequencies decrease, and the damping ratios increase as the structure is exposed to larger base excitations, indicating loss of stiffness, development/propagation of cracks, and failure in joint connections. The analysis of the modal rotations and curvatures allowed the localization of shear and flexural damages respectively and the checking of the effectiveness of repair actions. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Damage detection of base‐isolated buildings using multi‐input multi‐output subspace identification

A damage detection algorithm of structural health monitoring systems for base‐isolated buildings is proposed. The algorithm consists of the multiple‐input multiple‐output subspace identification method and the complex modal analysis. The algorithm is applicable to linear and non‐linear systems. The story stiffness and damping as damage indices of a shear structure are identified by the algorithm. The algorithm is further tuned for base‐isolated buildings considering their unique dynamic characteristics by simplifying the systems to single‐degree‐of‐freedom systems. The isolation layer and the superstructure of a base‐isolated building are treated as separate substructures as they are distinctly different in their dynamic properties. The effectiveness of the algorithm is evaluated through the numerical analysis and experiment. Finally, the algorithm is applied to the existing 7‐story base‐isolated building that is equipped with an Internet‐based monitoring system. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Identification of modal parameters of a 600-m-high skyscraper from field vibration tests

Accurate prediction of the dynamic responses of a high-rise building subjected to dynamic loads such as earthquake and wind excitations requires the information of its structural dynamic properties such as modal parameters including natural frequencies and damping ratios. This paper presents the identification results of the modal parameters based on field vibration tests on a 600-m high skyscraper. A set of tests, including ambient vibration test (AVT) and free vibration test (FVT), were conducted on the skyscraper to identify its modal parameters. Firstly, this paper presents and discusses the modal parameters of the skyscraper assessed by several identification methods applied to the AVT measurements. These methods include the wavelet transform (WT) method, the stochastic subspace identification (SSI) method, and the random decrement technique (RDT). Secondly, an active mass damper (AMD) system with total mass 1000 tons equipped into the skyscraper was used to excite the building for estimation of the modal parameters by FVT. Thirdly, this paper presents observations on the structural dynamic behavior of the skyscraper with the operation of the AMD system during a typhoon event. The field measurement results show that the AMD system functioned efficiently for suppression of the wind-induced vibrations of the skyscraper during the typhoon. This paper aims to further understand the structural dynamic properties of super-tall buildings and provide useful information for structural design and vibration control of future skyscrapers.     

Dynamic characteristics of a base isolated building from ambient vibration measurements and low level earthquake shaking

Ambient vibration tests were conducted on a base-isolated apartment building in Takamatsu, Japan, to determine the mode shapes and the associated natural frequencies and damping ratios at very low levels of excitation. The latest developments in signal analysis for modal decomposition are used to analyze the ambient response data. A finite element model of the building and isolators was calibrated and refined using the experimental results from the ambient vibration tests. This model was then used to simulate the recorded response of the building under excitation from a small earthquake. The finite element model, calibrated by ambient vibration data and the low level of earthquake shaking, provides the starting point for modelling the non-linear response of the building when subjected to strong shaking.     

混凝土框架模型结构参数的识别

框架结构是常见的建筑结构形式,也是结构损伤诊断的主要研究对象之一。本文以钢筋混凝土框架结构模型的振动测试数据为基础,采用灵敏度分析方法,对结构的物理参数进行识别。有限元分析中,考虑框架结构的节点转动,采用静凝聚方法得到结构刚度矩阵。参数识别结果表明,对于不同的固有频率和振型的测试信息组合所识别的物理参数有所不同。根据已知的概率分布,利用MonteCarlo方法,将模态参数的不确定性传递给物理参数,得到了物理参数的不确定性。     

Damage identification method using harmonic excitation force considering both modelling and measurement errors

A method of structural damage identification using harmonic excitation force is presented. It considers the effects of both measurement and modelling errors in the baseline finite element model. Damage that accompanies changes in structural parameters can be estimated for a damaged structure from the change between measured vibration responses and ones calculated from the analytical model of the intact structure. In practice, modelling errors exist in the analytical model due to material and geometric uncertainties and a reduction in the degrees of freedom as well as measurement errors, making identification difficult. To surmount these problems, bootstrap hypothesis testing, which enables statistical judgment without information about these errors, was introduced. The method was validated by numerical simulation using a three‐dimensional frame structure and real vibration data for a three‐storey steel frame structure. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

酸雨环境下砌体结构地震易损性研究

对4榀相同特性的砖墙进行不同程度的酸雨腐蚀试验及低周反复荷载试验,得出其在不同腐蚀循环次数下的滞回曲线。基于陆新征-曲哲恢复力模型对砖墙试件进行模拟分析,并与试验结果进行对比,验证得出三弹簧单元模型能够较准确预测砌体构件的滞回性能。利用三弹簧单元模型对不同腐蚀次数下砌体结构进行IDA分析,得出不同腐蚀次数下砌体结构的易损性曲线,通过对"小震"、"中震"、"大震"下结构失效概率的分析得出,酸雨腐蚀能够严重影响结构的力学性能,使得结构的抗震性能显著下降。     

Vibration‐based damage assessment of steel structure using global and local response measurements

Damage assessment of a structure involves acquiring and identifying dynamic characteristics of the structure and using these characteristics to evaluate behavior and performance. In this study, an unsymmetrical three‐story steel structure (fabricated with one weak column in the first floor) was tested on shaking table and subjected to a series of earthquake excitations with increasing level of excitation back to back. Besides, white noise excitation was also applied in between the earthquake excitation to serve as the reference state. Both the traditional sensing system (accelerometer and linear variable differential transformer) and the local optical tracker system were implemented in the structure to collect the vibration‐based responses. For operational modal analysis, structural response from white noise excitation will be used in this study. First, the traditional system identification using global response data is used (multivariate autoregressive (AR)‐model) to extract system natural frequencies and mode shapes from all different set of white noise responses after earthquake excitation. The migration of AR‐coefficient ellipse error from each sensor response was used to identify the damage location. Second, blind source separation technique was used to identify the modal contribution of the structure from each test, which provide information to detect the damage severity. Finally, from the local optical tracker array data, the principal component analysis was applied to quantify the earthquake‐induce local stress of the structural member. Combine the result from damage detection using global measurement and the identified local element stress, one can locate and quantify the damage. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ambient vibration measurements on a cable-stayed bridge

An extensive programme of full-scale ambient vibration tests has been conducted to measure the dynamic response of a 542 m (centre span of 274 m) cable-stayed bridge—the Quincy Bayview Bridge in Illinois. A microcomputer-based system was used to collect and analyse the ambient vibration data. A total of 25 modal frequencies and associated mode shapes were identified for the deck structure within the frequency range of 0–2 Hz. Also, estimations were made for damping ratios. The experimental data clearly indicated the occurrence of many closely spaced modal frequencies and spatially complicated mode shapes. Most tower modes were found to be associated with the deck modes, implying a considerable interaction between the deck and tower structure. No detectable levels of motion were evident at the foundation support of the pier. The results of the ambient vibration survey were compared to modal frequencies and mode shapes computed using a three-dimensional finite element model of the bridge. For most modes, the analytic and experimental modal frequencies and mode shapes compare quite well, especially for the vertical modes. Based on the findings of this study, a linear elastic finite element model appears to be capable of capturing much of the complex dynamic behaviour of the bridge with very good accuracy, when compared to the low-level dynamic responses induced by ambient wind and traffic excitations.